Apple has barely had time to restock the shelves since its latest iPhone launch but that hasn't stopped the tech giant unveiling its latest iPad - renamed the iPad Air.

The announcement has added serious fuel to the fire in the battle of the tablets in the run up to Christmas and comes just hours after Nokia entered the tablet market with its Lumia 2520 and Microsoft started selling its new Surface devices.

The iPad Air is thinner, lighter, more powerful than ever before, Apple said.

Scroll Down for Video

Launch: Philip W. Schiller, senior vice president of worldwide marketing, unveiled the newly named iPad Air Tuesday. It features a new design that's reminiscent of the iPad mini released last year

Apple's tablet range received mixed scores. The 9.7-inch iPad Air, right, came second, while the iPad mini with Retina Display, left, came sixth with a score of 2512. The iPad 2 scored 502, yet it is a three-year-old model

Thinner: An Apple employee holds up the new iPad Air in San Francisco. Apple unveiled a new, lighter tablet called the iPad Air along with a slew of new Macs

It has 9.7-inch Retina display with a smaller bezel and is 43 per cent thinner than the previous model, making it more comfortable to hold. It also has a 5MP camera and dual microphones for the first time.

Apple announced that the device will become available in mid-December in four colours - silver, white, 'space grey' and black. Prices will start from $499 for a 16GB model with UK prices starting at £399.

RELATED ARTICLES

Share this article

The tablet is 7.5mm thick and weighs just 1lb, compared to the 1.4lb previous model, making it the 'lightest full size tablet in the world'.

The tablet also has Apple's A7 chip, that was just launched in the iPhone 5S and is twice as fast as before.The graphics are 72 per cent faster than the very first iPad.

It's almost a year to to the
day since Apple's CEO Tim Cook unveiled Apple's first generation iPad mini.

A year on: Mr Schiller took the stage almost a year to to the day after Apple's CEO Tim Cook unveiled Apple's first generation iPad mini

Showing the specs: Mr Schiller stands in front of a graphic that shows the breakdown of the iPad Air. The screen is a 9.7-inch Retina Display with 2048 x 1536 pixel resolution

Latest model : A reporter holds the iPad Air at an Apple announcement in San Francisco. Apart from the obvious improvements the product also boasts longer battery life, improved Wi-Fi and better LTE support

Speaking to the crowd at San Francisco’s Yuerba Buena Center for the Arts, he said: ‘You’re going to see some amazing products this morning.’

Apple also unveiled a new iPad Mini with a new high resolution 7.9inch Retina display, which also has the new A7 chip from the iPhone 5s.

It boasts 10 hours of battery life, improved wi-fi and better LTE support, and is available in silver, white, space grey and black, contrary to rumours that suggested it would come in a rainbow of colours like the iPhone C.

HOW APPLE'STABLETS COMPARE TO RIVAL TABLETS

Specification

Apple iPad 4

Apple iPad Air

Kindle Fire HDX 8.9

Microsoft Surface 2

Microsoft Surface Pro 2

Nokia Lumia 2520

Screen size

9.7-inches

9.7-inches

8.9-inches

10.6-inches

10.6-inches

10.1-inches

Resolution

2048 x 1536

2048 x 1536

2560 x 1600

1920 x 1080

1920 x 1080

1920 x 1080

Pixels-per-inch (PPI)

264

326

339

208

208

218

Camera

5MP rear, 1.2MP front

5-megapixel iSight camera

8MP rear-facing, HD front-facing

5MP rear-facing, 3.5MP front-facing

1MP rear-facing, HD front-facing

6.7MP front-facing camera, 2MP rear-facing

Basic storage

16GB

16GB

16GB

32GB

64GB

32GB

Price*

From £399.99

From $399

From £199

From £359

From £719

From $499 (£309)

*Direct from retailers. Prices may vary on third-party shops or during promotions

HOW APPLE'S SMALL-SCREEN TABLETS COMPARE TO RIVAL TABLETS

Specification

Argos MyTablet

Tesco Hudl

Google Nexus 7 (2013)

iPad mini (first generation)

NewiPad mini

Kindle Fire HDX 7

Screen size

7-inches

7-inches

7-inches

7.9-inches

7.9-inches

7-inches

Resolution

1024 x 600

1440 x 900

1920 x 1200

1024 x 768

2048 x 1536

1980 x 1200

Pixels-per-inch (PPI)

169

237

323

163

326

330

Camera

2MP rear, 0.3MP front

3MP rear, 2MP front

5MP rear, 1.2 MP front

5MP rear, 1.2 MP front

5 MP

1.3MP front-facing camera

Basic storage

8GB

16GB

16GB

16GB

16GB

16GB

Price*

From £99.99

From £119 (£60 with Clubcard Points)

From £199

From £269

From $299

From £199

*Direct from retailers. Prices may vary on third-party shops or during promotions

**Currently £99 on offer

Bigging it up: Ahead of the iPad Air's unveiling, reporters were told 'You're going to see some amazing products this morning'

Tim Cook, Apple CEO said: 'Regardless of what you might hear or read about how many other tablets are bought or sold or activated, iPad is used more... more than 4 times more than all the others put together'

Lighter: Apple CEO Tim Cook holds the new iPad Air during an Apple announcement at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco

The new model will cost from $399 in
the U.S. and £319 in the UK, and will also become available in November,
although a precise date is yet to be announced.

MAILONLINE'S FIRST IMPRESSIONS

By VICTORIA WOOLLASTON

Both new products are a step forward, but certainly not the leap that Apple’s CEO Tim Cook suggested in his keynote.

The new iPad mini has been marginally improved. Side-by-side, the first and second-generation 7.9-inch tablets look identical, and in fact the new model feels noticeably heavier than its predecessor.

This is undoubtedly because of the addition of the Retina Display and the new model does weigh 23g more as a result.

Retina Display is impressive across all of Apple’s devices and the new iPad mini is no exception. On menus, text is sharp and clear but it’s not until photos or graphics-heavy apps are opened does the screen really come into its own.

Because of this, the screen does add a little something to the device compared to its predecessor but not enough to warrant splashing out on a completely new model. And not enough to make it stand out next to Google’s latest Nexus 7 and the Kindle Fire HDX range.

The iPad Air, on the other hand, is more impressive. It is remarkably light and thin. Mr Cook said during his keynote that the tablet has to be ‘seen to be believed’, which the cynic in me scoffed at, but he was spot on.

It is lighter than any other tablet I’ve used, including the 7-inch models from the likes of Google and Amazon. This is made all the more remarkable when you take in its size; Apple has stuck with its trademark 9.7-inch screen.

Mr Cook claimed the Air was twice as fast in processing power and graphics, which we couldn’t fully qualify in our short time with the device, yet webpages loaded quick enough and switching apps was seamless.

As with all Apple products, the price is still the sticking point. Apple makes premium products extremely well, but with cheaper devices hitting the market in time for Christmas that have similar, and in some cases, better features, Apple may finally have some serious competition.

The original iPad mini, which previously cost $329, will now cost $299 - 'the lowest price for an iPad yet.'

Tim Cook said the latest iPad is Apple's 'most advanced technology in a revolutionary and magical device.

'The
iPad is one of the most successful products in Apple's history and in
the whole industry. Earlier this month Apple sold its 170 millionth
iPad.

He
said: 'Now everybody seems to be making a tablet, even some of the
doubters iPad is used more than any of the rest. iPad is used over FOUR
times more than all of those other tablets put together.'

Experts
had predicted that the iPad mini would be launched in a number of
bright colours and would also feature a camera upgrade from 5MP to 8MP or even 12MP - to make it a market leader.

Amazon's Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 model is the only tablet from a major retailer to currently feature a high-quality, 8MP camera.

Apple also revealed the latest version of its Mac OS X software, claiming it can give current laptops an extra hour of battery life, as well as boosting graphics performance.

The software, called Mavericks, includes Apple’s controversial Maps app for the first time, and its iBooks electronic reading app.

Craig Federighi, Apple's senior vice
president of Software Engineering, said: 'The team has been hard at work
on the latest release of OS X, and this one is a doozy'.

In
the West Coast, Cook also hit at out at Google and Microsoft, saying:
'Our competition is confused, they are trying to make tablets in PCs and
PCs into tablets. We have a very clear direction and am ambitious goal.
We still believe in the PC market.’

Speaking
about the latest software launch, Federighi said: 'It's a fantastic
release, extends your battery life has great features from across the
system.'

'We're reinvented the way we distribute OS 10 now as easy as downloading an app.

'Today we're going to revolutionise
pricing. Today we announce a new era for the Mac. Today we're announcing
that Mavericks is free,' he said.

The free upgrade is available for all Apple Mac users from today, he said.

Reviewed: MailOnline's Victoria Woollaston looks at the iPad Mini during the Apple media launch in London

Certain parts of Apple's official iPad store were taken offline in the build up to the event. The error message, pictured, said the firm was 'busy updating the Apple Store.' This usually precedes any major product launch

Apple's launch event comes just hours after Nokia entered the tablet market with its 10.1-inch Lumia 2520, pictured, and Microsoft started selling its new Surface devices

The
free software, shown off by Federighi, can give users alerts about
changes on their favourite websites, give directions directly from
someone’s calender and send them directly to an iPhone.

REVOLUTIONARY OR JUST HOT AIR? INITIAL REACTIONS TO THE IPADS

'There are some improvements, like making them thinner and lighter, adding better cameras and faster chips, and the smaller iPad now gets a much better 'retina' display.

'But there's nothing dramatically new here. And you know what? That's fine. If you haven't bought an iPad, now is a good time to do so, although if you already own one, there's no need at all to upgrade.'

David Phelan, Mobile Technology Advisor at Carphone Warehouse, said: 'It’s been a big day for tech announcements and Nokia's come out all guns blazing with something for everyone.

'The real stand-out is the Windows 8.1 tablet which will shake up the tablet market in the run-up to Christmas.'

The 13inch Macbook Pro has been made lighter and thinner, and given a new low power Intel Haswell chip to improve its graphics and battery life, which Apple claims is now 9 hours.

The firm will sell the new machine from $1,299 in the U.S. and £1099 in the UK - roughly $200 cheaper than the previous version.

The radical tubular Mac Pro, designed for high-end users is the most powerful machine that Apple has even made with an Intel Xeon E5 processor, which is capable of driving three next-generation ultra HD monitors.

It also has a motion sensor to illuminate the machine’s ports when it is moved.

Thinner, faster, cheaper and more powerful, it is available in December and will cost from $2,999 in the U.S. and £2,499 in the the UK.

Apple's marketing manager Phil Schiller, said: 'The Mac Pro is no louder than a Mac
Mini. We're really proud it's designed by an incredible team. There have
been 2000 people spread across 20 states and it will be made in the U.S.'

The
all-American Macbook Pro is the first of Apple's machine to be
assembled in the country and the firm said that 20 states will be
involved in the process.

Apple has announced the latest version of OS X, 10.9 Mavericks, will be available as a free Mac App Store download today. Pictured is Apple senior vice president of Software Engineering Craig Federighi

Mr Schiller, the senior vice president of worldwide marketing at Apple, unveiled the new Macbook Pro. It will feature nine hours of battery life, Iris graphics and will be up to 90 per cent faster. The Macbook Pro will start at $1,299 which is a $200 drop from the original price

Testing it out: Attendees look at the new iPad Air during an Apple announcement at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, California

In recent weeks, high-street retailers Tesco and Argos have both released tablet devices and just this morning Nokia announced its first tablet computer, the Lumia 2520.

Nokia's device starts at $499 in the U.S. and £309 in the UK, has a 10.1-inch screen and runs Windows RT. It comes in red, blue, white and black and its screen has a pixel density of 218.

Microsoft announced its Surface 2 tablets last month and they officially went on sale today.

Reports in July suggested Microsoft lost around
$900m due to poor sales of its original Surface devices.

Called the Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2, the latest tablets run the latest Windows 8.1 operating system.

Before the event, leaked images, pictured, purported to show the rear of a rumoured iPad 5, left, and iPad mini 2, right

Experts predicted Apple would launch a new range of iPads after leaked images from technology site Tactus, allegedly showed the rear shell of the iPad 5, pictured, with coloured cases

The Surface Pro 2 has the same ClearType HD display as its predecessor. It is said to be 20 per cent faster, and Microsoft has added 75 per cent to its battery life.

The
Surface 2 runs Windows 8.1 RT version - a scaled-down version of the
full operating system that has been designed specifically for mobile
devices which Microsoft was forced to pull from it store earlier this week after reports claimed it caused tablets to freeze.

Additionally, the Surface 2 comes with a 3.5MP front-facing camera, and a 5MP rear camera, while the Surface Pro has just a 1MP rear-facing and HD 720p front-facing camera.

Surface
2 is available in 32GB and 64GB models and starts at £359, while the
Surface Pro 2 comes in 64GB and 128GB versions and starts at £719.